By Paul Lebowitz

SANTA MONICA BAY – The hoop net was trembling long before it reached the surface, some 70 deep feet yet to go. Something tasty was rattling around in there, but would it be lobsters or crabs?

“Well, what do you think? Is it a good one?” Jim Salazar asked, and in his voice I heard a sly smile. Salazar knew darn well the net was filled with the good stuff, but he was reveling in the moment.

The little bridle float finally appeared out of the inky deep. I seized the line greedily and lifted the big conical net out of the water.

“Jim, it’s stuffed with bugs!” I shouted in excitement. We traded high fives as one 3-pounder and two other legal sized spiny lobsters splashed into the bait tank. 5 or 6 plump rock crabs joined them. After starting out slowly, we knew our luck had turned.

Thanksgiving was less than a week off. Thoughts of lobster stuffing and holiday breakfasts of crab omelets had sped my drive up the 405 to meet Salazar not far from his Santa Monica Bay hotspot.

I know Salazar was thinking of Thanksgiving lobster too because he told me so, but the good-natured pro staffer for hoop net manufacturer Promar was motivated as much by the gleaming electric winch affixed to the gunwale of his 17-ft center console and the fruits he hoped to pluck with it. Salazar expressed a craving for crab.

“The meat is so sweet. At times I even like it better than lobster,” Salazar said.

Rock crabs somehow seem to escape the notice of most recreational crustacean hunters. Why is a true puzzle. Their thick shells are filled with flaky meat; their grasping claws comically oversized like Popeye’s bulging biceps.

“My wife asks why I don’t just forget about the lobsters and concentrate on the crabs,” Salazar said, a funny thing to hear from a man practically known as Mr. Lobster. Fine enough in summer (rock crabs are fair game all year long), but not in the midst of lobster season.

Consequently we dropped 5 hoop nets in shallow water, close to a rock wall that’d been consistently giving up lobster since opening night. “It’s been a great year so far,” Salazar said, then pointed his boat out to deeper water. The other five nets, like the shallow ones all Promar’s 3-ring Eclipse style, were destined for a long soak in 85 to 90 ft of water. Crab territory – but also in the potential lobster zone too. Come winter, the bugs seek deeper water away from wave surge in the shallows.

We raced back in to check the shallow nets. Nothing, nada, just a few tiny swimmer crabs and snails. “That’s odd. We’ve gotten lobsters here on our first pull every night we’ve been out,” Salazar said, a bit puzzled. Nets reset, he turned the boat around and back out to deeper water.

Now it was time to try out Salazar’s new toy, an Ace Line Hauler. It’s a power winch, a miniature of the industrial models seen pulling pots on The Deadliest Catch. He threaded the tag end of a hoop net main line through the guides, flicked a switch, and relaxed as the machine did most of the work.

About a minute latter up popped the net, nicely filled with red and yellow rock crabs. They were all much larger than the minimum size (4-in across the widest part of the body), and since the limit is a generous 35 per person only a rough count had to be made.

So why the winch, which Salazar said costs some $500? Anyone who’s pulled hoop nets from deep water knows it’s an arm-testing and shoulder-stressing workout. And you can’t rest if you get tired halfway up or you risk losing your bugs. The net flattens out, then all it takes is a flick of the tail and its so-long lobster. Unless of course you’ve got the more forgiving Eclipse nets, which can be hauled in more deliberately because the third ring improves catch retention. In fact, the Eclipse nets make the winch practical, because current models reel line in at a moderate 110 ft per minute pace. Fast enough for crabs, but what about lobster?

It didn’t take long to discover the answer, just two more nets. Then that one came up squirming and shaking. That’s when we knew it would be a limit type of night, and on big bugs too. We collected the inside nets (largely barren of life) and clustered them around the pronounced drop-off Salazar had located with sonar.

By 10:30 pm we had double limits of lobster and enough crabs for a dozen omelets, a tall stack of crab cakes, and crab claw cocktail for everyone gathered around the holiday table.

HAPPY ‘BUGS’-GIVING – The author with a pair of Thanksgiving lobsters. The season has been a good one, and although many people have hung up the hoops, there are still plenty of bugs to catch.

HOOPING THE EASY WAY – Promar staffer Jim Salazar (left) enjoys a cold beverage while marketing director Jason Morton (right) runs Salazar’s new Ace Line Hauler. The electric winch takes the hard work out of pulling hoop nets up from deep water.

DEEP WATER BOUNTY – Tim Hubbard with a net full of lobsters hauled up from 85 ft. In Santa Monica Bay, lobsters are becoming scarce in the shallows as they move out to deep water for the winter.

ROCK’IN CRAB – Rock crabs like this yellow modeled by Scott Smith are a common by-catch in hoop nets fished deep for lobster. They’re a tasty bonus. Salazar said the meat is so sweet, his wife prefers it to lobster.

CRABBY PROMAR STAFFER – Salazar gets up close (some would say too close!) to a big spider crab. There’s a lot of delicious meat in those giant legs, although most of these guys are a muddy mess. Salazar only keeps the rare clean specimen.

As we headed for home on gorgeous Sunday evening, flat calm and only one other boat in sight, Salazar drew some conclusions that he’d confirm the next night.

In Santa Monica Bay, most lobsters have moved out of the shallows and into deeper water, where they shelter from the bigger waves of winter. Salazar sees increasing numbers of hoop netters moving away from the crowded breakwalls, and it’s those people who’ll successfully hunt down the bugs in their rocky homes.

Just like in fishing, finding new productive structure takes a bit of prospecting. Salazar suggested people head out to their favorite local rockfish spots, then drop a couple of baited Eclipse nets while they fish. Yes, in the light of the day. You probably won’t get lobsters, but if you pull up rock crabs you’re in the right area.